{"id":4712,"date":"2014-03-11T12:30:47","date_gmt":"2014-03-11T17:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/citings\/?p=4712"},"modified":"2015-10-13T13:36:44","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T18:36:44","slug":"the-mental-labor-of-working-mothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/clippings\/2014\/03\/11\/the-mental-labor-of-working-mothers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mental Labor of Working Mothers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Bandita via flickr.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can do a lot of things in 29 hours: work a part time job, watch 58 episodes of a sitcom, or listen to \u2018Don\u2019t Worry, Be Happy\u2019 about 435\u00a0times. According to a study<\/a> from Bar-Ilan University<\/a>, working moms spend 29 hours a week worrying.<\/p>\n

This study, picked up by Babble.com<\/a>,\u00a0demonstrates the\u00a0\u201ccycle of guilt” experienced by working moms who “feel they are being bad mothers for going to work and bad workers when they put their children first.\u201d Trapped in this catch-22,\u00a0worry results in less time, not to mention mental energy,\u00a0for sleep, work, and childcare for working mothers.<\/p>\n

Professor Shira Offer<\/a> suggests that women bear\u00a0a “double\u00a0burden” of worry due to the tendency of women to change their work schedules to accommodate family issues. For example, mothers are more likely\u00a0than fathers to\u00a0take a day off of work to care for a sick child. That\u2019s not to say men are worry free. Working men are reported to spend 24 hours a week worrying, losing a whole day.<\/p>\n

Worry does more than just take up time; it can also contribute to lack of focus and a decrease in performance. If we didn\u2019t spend so much time worrying, maybe we wouldn\u2019t have as much to worry about.
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